Now, the couple is struggling to overcome numerous injuries suffered when two bombs went off near where they stood on April 15.

Martha, 60, has had her left ring finger amputated because the blasts shattered her hand. Shrapnel in her leg caused such severe damage, she will spend the next year learning how to walk once again.

"She lost her ring finger where she had her wedding band. That was amputated," said Alvaro, his voice breaking with emotion. “The physical injuries will heal. The mental and emotional injuries are what I worry about."

Alvaro, 62, underwent two operations himself to remove most, but not all of the shrapnel embedded in his legs and buttocks.

"I have to overcome this. I have to be strong. I have to face the bull," he said.

Neither one expects to be able to return to their jobs.

For 32 years, Alvaro worked as a health care account manager. Martha worked as a preschool assistant teacher at the Adult Learning Center in Nashua.

Because their lives have been turned upside down and their medical expenses are skyrocketing, the couple's three children have launched an online fundraising effort called the Galvis Fund on GiveForward.com.

Their goal is to raise nearly $1 million to help their parents with their mounting expenses.

"The future is uncertain. My wife will need a lot of care. We don't know how strong we are," Alvaro said.

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